Summer 2011 Part 7

Bergen morning

Wednesday 13th July 2011
Bergen beckoned outside my hotel window so, after breakfast in one of the ubiquitous Egon Restaurants, I checked out, left my case in a locked luggage room, and walked to meet one of my friends at the funicular station. We were going to ride up to Mount Floyen, to get superb views of the mountains and harbour, but first had to queue to get tickets.

map of Bergen

Funicular station

There are two carriages, with a passing place in the middle of the route.
Mount Floyen cable car

Going up

The view down

A carriage passing us

A padded tunnel

We finally arrived at the viewing platform and it was as wonderful as I had hoped.

What a view

Wonderful sight

COSTA LUMINOSA and COSTA PACIFICA

BOURBON MONSOON

We could see the fjords through which we had sailed yesterday on NORDSTJERNEN to arrive here in Bergen Harbour; we could see the mountains, the sunlight glistening on the water down below and a coffee shop in front of us. Outside this was an elevated rail, and two little miniature funicular carriages, one going up and one going down, exactly like the real ones!

Red cable car going up

Blue cable car coming down

Passing point

Just like the real thing

That was fun, as we could see when a carriage was due to arrive up on the viewing platform station just by looking at the toy carriages. I know, little things please little minds, but the proprietor of the sell-everything coffee shop obviously loved life and his customers, and this overhead rail was part of the fun.

Looking down at the harbour we could see today’s cruise ships in port,

MSC POESIA, AMADEA and ALBATROS

Far horizons

View of the view

plus other working ships, and then in the far distance was a sight to gladden the heart – it was the ship we are to sail on this afternoon: the VISTAMAR. Hooray, how reassuring.

Here she comes...

Coffee break finished and photos taken, we took the funicular down. In the ticket office hall were photos of the building of the funicular in 1918 and then the funicular carriages replaced in 1954, and then the new ones in 2002.

New in 2002

New in 1974

Built in 1918

I was so thrilled to see them because here I am following in Father’s Footsteps again, and I have his little photos of the funicular carriage he went in when he was here on ARANDORA STAR in 1931.

Bergen Funicular and ship in 1931

ARANDORA STAR at Bergen 1931

Bergen 1931

One of the ships that my Father saw and photographed near Bergen in 1931 or 1932 was the 1904-built METEOR, of Hamburg American Line.

Ship METEOR near Bergen

Back down in the city we each collected our luggage

SHOWTIME
Cross-harbour ferry

and met to go and board the 1989-built VISTAMAR for our two night trip south from Bergen to Cuxhaven.

Ships seen: Costa Luminosa, Costa Pacifica, MSC Poesia, Amadea, Vistamar, Albatros, Showtime, Bergen cross-harbour ferry, Bourbon Monsoon (Rescue Boat PX105)

To be continued...

Summer 2011 Part 6

Summer 2011 Part 6
NORDSTJERNEN to Bergen

Tuesday 12th July 2011
The ship called at Torvik for half an hour, and then Maloy for 45 minutes, but I was still sleeping, obviously undisturbed by a quayside right outside my porthole! After that though the seas were very rough and we pitched and rolled for nearly an hour until 4 a.m. I eventually slept and woke when my alarm clock went off so I could be on deck for the next port of Floro at 7.45 and I managed a 5 minute walk on the quayside there, just to restore my equilibrium.

Rem Stadt

Skandi Sotra

Half an hour later we were off again, and then it was breakfast and rolling our way south again.

We were asked to vacate cabins by 10 a.m. so luggage was stored up on Deck C near Reception, carried up there by large Viking-like crew members, thus allowing the cabins to be cleaned and linen changed, ready for arrival in Bergen. Once we were in the shelter of another fjord the sea calmed slightly and many of us chose to sit up on the top deck, wrapped in warm thick blankets, taking in the fresh icy air in a very convivial atmosphere and admiring the amazing scenery.





Fedjefjord

Salmon and reindeer appeared on the lunch menu again,

3rd and 4th salmon to appear

lunch choices

more lunch choices

desserts

with more beautiful-looking desserts amongst other things, so everyone was well-fed by the time we sailed through the last of the fjords into the port of Bergen and the Hurtigruten Terminal. En route we could see lots more ships.


Falkvik

Malene Ostervold


Hanseatic Sailor

White Lady

The newly named Artania cruise ship

Another view of Artania

8 ships and Mount Floyen

SC Aberdeen

local sightseeing vessel

Snarveien



We were on time of course, at 2.30 p.m., and I felt reluctant to leave this delightful little ship.

Goodbye little dear

She really is a little liner, with so much wood in her fixtures and fittings, comfortable and stylish furnishings, fabulous food, and interesting and pleasant staff. I would happily sail on NORDSTJERNEN again, preferably when there wasn’t a low pressure weather front from the west affecting the state of the sea as it was during my short voyage, but a Hurtigruten voyage of whatever length is certainly something to be recommended. I imagine that the whole round trip from Bergen to Kirkenes and back is rightly named ‘The world’s most beautiful voyage’.

It was sunny and hot as I walked to my Bergen city centre hotel, past the harbour-side Fish Market stalls selling all sorts of fish and reindeer meat, to eat there or take home, and the Norwegian knitted goods stalls.






Another interesting drain cover



Tourists and visitors were everywhere, enjoying the sights and sounds. Later I met another of my travelling companions and we enjoyed coffee and cake before exploring part of the harbour and looking for interesting ships.

Restaurant Ladies toilet sign

Dinner of course was reindeer or salmon, and it was lovely to be able to walk home late in the evening whilst it was still very light. NORDSTJERNEN meanwhile was on her way north again, sailing along the Norwegian coast in the Land of the Midnight Sun.

NORDSTJERNEN leaving Bergen and sailing north again

Tomorrow I will be sailing on another unusual ship, from here in Bergen, heading further south.

Ships seen: Rem Stadt, Skandi Sotra, Fedjefjord, Falkvik, Malene Ostervold, Hanseatic Sailor, Artania cruise ship, SC Aberdeen, Snarveien, White Lady, Nordstjernen and other Bergen harbour vessels


To be continued…